


Ghostly Greetings~

by C_A_T_M



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Character Turned Into a Ghost, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Ghost Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Halloween, Haunted Houses, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 12:53:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17643209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_A_T_M/pseuds/C_A_T_M
Summary: He hadn’t seen or even spoke to anyone in four years, why was this hoodlum running into this deserted house?





	Ghostly Greetings~

Levi was bored; plain and simple. 

His days and nights melted together into one endless passage of time, the light and dark that peeked through his windows were the only thing that alerted him to what time of day it was. 

Staring hard at the horizon outside of his reach, he longed to be able to feel the sun in his pale skin, to experience the breeze that tousled his raven hair. What he wouldn't do to be human once more instead of stuck as a non-corporal being that was stuck to one stupid house. 

Everyday he would watch the sunset and the sunrise, fingers pressing against the confines of the building he was in. He had tried to hard to leave the building, but it seemed that only on halloween he could do so - when the veil between the worlds was thin and easily penetrable.

But it wasn't halloween and wouldn't be for a while. 

Fingers slipped from the glass, head turning away from the window. If he could have felt anything aside from emptiness, he would have felt the deep burn of isolation. 

He moved yet his feet didn't hit the ground, his body passing through the walls effortlessly as he glided through the slowly deteriorating building - the building he'd died in so many years ago.

How he died was a mystery even to him, his memory was slipping away with every day that trudged past.

Passing the kitchen, the living room and the front room, he settled on hovering over the ruining sofa, stains and mould covering every inch of the fabric. 

The dirt and the grime made his nose scrunch up, nothing to try and clean it up. However every effort he would make to try and clean up the grime would always be fruitless, his hands always travelling through the out of date cleaning supplies and leave the place no cleaner than he'd started.

The hands on the broken clock struck 5, am or pm, he had no clue.

Everyone was probably hustling home, ready to go to bed or to have tea - spend their time doing lively things with their friends and family. Or stay by themselves in a calm solitude. 

The latter was something he'd been doing for too long, the disconnect from others creating yet another barrier between the living and the in between.

Solitude was something he was used to, was engraved into him after so long alone; so imagine his surprise when he heard the front door creak open, the wrought and rusty iron door groaning under the sudden stress of being pushed. 

Immediately, he travelled down to the front door, standing in the corner out of view (he wasn't sure if he could be seen anyway) and waited for the door to open fully.

It seemed like an eternity passed before they finally opened, the doors slamming open fully before closing just as loudly, the figure that hurtled in almost stumbling over their own feet. Had her been any closer, he would have heard the curses and swearing that rivalled his own.

He was nothing if not intrigued, moving closer to try and see who had entered the abandoned building after so many years. 

"God damn, I hope this place isn't as shit as it looks from the outside," the low grunt made him bristle, frowning as he attempted to look at the intruders face. He had half a mind to scoff at them, were they expecting a 5 star mansion?

A dark hood covered their features, their clothing large and baggy - unflattering but practical. The breeze that had followed in after them was enough to make the paintings swing violently and he understood their choice of clothing. 

He himself preferred neat, ironed clothing. This was prevalent even in death, his white shirt crisp and black trousers pressed without a single wrinkle in sight. 

It was interesting to the parallel between himself and this stranger that was lugging a heavy looking backpack around, walking away from the front door and into one of the back rooms that had no windows.

Following them more so out of curiosity than malicious intent, he watched as they pulled out a sleeping bag and laid it on the ground, smoothing it out and climbing in moments later, shivering and muttering something indistinctly as they rolled onto their side, eyes shut tightly yet still fully conscious. 

Levi was normally anything but nosy, but he couldn't have forced himself away from the entrance even if he wanted to. He wanted to know so many things: could he interact with them? Could he speak to them with an actual reply? Was he anything more than a cool breeze to this wandering figure? 

All these questions would remain unanswered unless he took direct action - which was exactly what he did.

Striding confidently towards them, he stopped in front of their head and hovered a few centimetres off the ground, waiting for their eyes to open. He was even willing to stay in their position for hours, as long as he would eventually be spotted. 

Their chest was rising slowly, their mumbling having stopped a while ago as they curled into themselves for warmth. Levi would have dismissed them for asleep if he hadn't seen their eyeliner flutter and lips form a subtle pout. 

"Hello?" His voice sounded foreign even to his own ears, having never had a reason before to really say anything out loud - especially when he was the only one around to hear it. The rats didn't make particularly good conversation.

As soon as the first syllable had hit the air, their body jerked upwards and they were barrelling backwards, hood falling down to reveal a feminine looking face with eyes rounded and wide in shock. 

"What the FUCK!?" The scream was to be expected but he hadn't expected her to be so _loud_. 

She moved quick, scrambling out of her sleeping bag and pulling her backpack onto her shoulders, muscles tensed and ready to bolt. 

"What's got your panties in a twist? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" God, he'd always wanted to say that line. 

Only after he'd said that, did she look him up and down, realising with a startled shout that he was _hovering_. 

"Oh my god! You're floating and glowing!" Confusion and disbelief melted together, a finger pointed towards him accusingly as she stared at him, still looking ready to run at a moments notice. 

He only shrugged, remaining in his seated, hovering position, "well done, you have working eyes."

At his comment, the fear that was almost palpable seemed to die down, instead replaced with heavy irritation and annoyance. "What the hell are you? A ghost? Why haven't you tried to kill me? Why are you here?"

The questions she asked flowed rapidly, smacking him one by one as she spoke within one breath. Talking to a random, living girl was the last thing he expected to be doing on this friday night - especially not one that was simultaneously terrified and indignant.

"Just because I'm a ghost doesn't mean I want to kill you, I would have done it as soon as you walked in if I did. And you're the one that walked into my house, I should be asking you why the hell you're here, not the other way around," At least she had the audacity to look shocked, blinking owlishly as he continued his dead stare.

Even though she still looked ready to scram, the fear had transitioned into something more akin to curiosity, hesitantly taking a step forward. She really had a pair of balls on her to be walking towards him, he thought. 

He was glad that she wasn't running off screaming however. 

"You're really a ghost. Not something that I just made up because I'm going crazy?" At this, he barely raised his brow, finding her doubt rather amusing.

"Depends, do you think you're going crazy?" Her mouth opened to reply but she stopped with a wide open jaw when he stood up, her words stuck in her throat as she eyed him. 

Mouth clamping shut, she only just managed to keep her snort in. Humour twinkled in her hues and she struggled to keep back the peals of laughter, biting the inside of her cheek harshly. 

"What the fuck's so funny?" 

She shook her head but that only annoyed him, gliding closer to the sniggering female. "Nothing."

"Spit it out, brat."

The name made her brows knit but she didn't comment, instead shaking her head once again. "You're just… So short. I wasn't expecting that, it's cute."

His monotonous expression immediately turned into a frown, lips curling downward as he glared at the girl. Vaguely he wondered if she really was crazy, who in their right mind would have laughed at the sight of a ghost? 

Backpack tugged closer, she slowly picked up her sleeping bag and began inching towards the exit. "Well I um, I'm sorry for intruding. I'll just le-" 

"Did I say anything like that? Stop assuming things and sit back down. If you want to sleep in this shitty place, who am I to stop you?" At this, she froze, head snapping back up so that she could look at him with eyes the size of golfballs.

"How do I know you won't kill me while I sleep?"

He' didn't even blink. "you don't. I won't gain anything from killing you," her eyes narrowed, "do whatever you want." 

And with a few last words, he was walking out of the room - silently pleased to see that she was watching him as he left before slowly putting her sleeping bag back down and climbing in; eventually falling asleep for real. 

* * *

 

Light flooded into the room and he was there to witness the sun rise, as he always was ever since he'd been stuck in this in between state. The brightness pooled on the floor, decorated the walls and refracted through the shattered glass - slight rainbows Illuminating the area. 

He hadn't heard a single thing from her since she'd asleep and he was half convinced she'd gone out while he was confined to 'his' room.

Honestly, he wanted to go down and check if she was still there but he felt a little intrusive. Sleeping rough wasn't anything fun nor was it a pleasant thing to talk about - he knew that too well from what little flashes of his life he could remember. 

She didn't look particularly unclean or dirty, her clothing a little scruffy and shoes scuffed slightly, yet nothing that would classify her as a slob or degenerate. 

He watched the birds fly across the sky, the tweeting of the creatures filling the silence that echoed otherwise. Everything was always calm and quiet, something he appreciated but was also beginning to loathe.

Suddenly, the door opened and in she walked, looking around before spotting him stood just in front of the window. Stood still, she didn't dare to come closer. 

"Wow, so you are real. I thought I'd dreamed you up," it was something that was whispered but he'd still heard it.

Eyes never leaving the window, he responded with an undertone of snark. "Of course I'm real. And I didn't kill you either."

At this comment, she nailed him with a side eye that would have been sure to send him 6 feet under if he wasn't already dead. 

"Shut up, ghost boy. Even if I am hallucinating, you don't have to be so condescending," he returned her side eye, observing her as she made her way over beside him - still maintaining a reasonable amount of distance.

"I suggest you be quiet. No one in their right fucking mind would talk to a ghost, let alone stay overnight in a house with one. I can be as condescending as I want," Going quiet, she took to also looking out of the window. 

Levi felt oddly… vulnerable with her beside him, watching the same thing he'd seen over the course of four years. There wasn't anything profound or life changing to be seen, but it was his own escape from the drab life as spirit. 

And with the morning light, he could see her features clearly. With the sun filling out her face and golden rays colouring her skin tone, she looked as bright as the flowers that were in bloom. 

"Can you leave? The house I mean?" He should his head, hand pressed to the glass.

"No, I can't," and he glanced over to her only to see that she was doing the same thing, hand set on the glass and gaze ensnaring his own. 

Fingers curling, her knuckles brushed against the cool pane, lips set into a relaxed smile. "(y/n)."

Nothing more was elaborated on, hand retracting from the glass as she began making her own way out, mirroring his actions last night. 

It wasn't until she was just about to leave the room when she heard a clear 'Levi' in response.

Levi. 

What a beautiful name.

* * *

 

Over the course of a few months, he had gotten used to her presence. Sure he still wondered why she came to such a raggedy and quite frankly, shitty house. But he had company and he wasn't complaining. 

He has expected her to have left that first day and never come back. Certainly he wouldn't have come back if he saw a ghost in a run down house. Obviously she didn't work like that and had come back within the span of three hours with cheap looking noodles and contentedness across her features. 

When questioned, she would reply with something cryptic and a little shady, always dodging his question with practised ease. By now he'd given up on it.

It was one of the times where she'd come over, still lugging that heavy backpack on her back and grinning like a fool with a lollipop in her mouth and a paint can in her hand. 

"Why the fuck have you got that with you?" Her face contoured into an expression of smugness, causing instant regret to rush through his useless veins. 

"Because Grandpa, I'm going to be doing some painting. Since you're old and stupid with no fucking taste, I'll be redoing some rooms," The question of 'why' was tempting since there was really no use in redoing anything. It would all become undone in a matter of days from the rot and mould anyway. 

Despite this, he held his tongue and instead chose to stare at her for calling him old and stupid. 

"You're an idiot," Pulling an ugly face, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her antics and picked up a paint roller, floating up towards the top of the room to get the ceiling. 

He should have known from the moment that he started hovering that some kind of quip would be made: "Wow, look at shorty fly! Finally taller than someone, midget man?"

It was with a deadpan expression that he splattered paint over her with a flick of his wrist, relishing in her loud curse as her stupidly baggy clothing was covered in spots of cream paint. "Oi!"

"Whoops." 

Easily coating the top of the walls, he was able to do the corners too and he had to admit that the wall looked better. Some parts were still cracked and would require another coat, but it was still decent looking. 

On more than one occasion he looked back at her, floating over the the floor and flicking paint whenever he was feeling mischievous. He never found out what she'd been doing on that particular day that she'd decided to come into the house, or why she had decided on this one. 

However, as he listened to her hum softly and dance around happily, he was okay with letting his questions slide unanswered.

* * *

 

 "Hey, Levi?" 

She lay on the floor, her head resting on her bag as she rested in her sleeping bag. Rising and falling, her chest maintained a steady rhythm as she breathed. 

His chest reminded still.

"Yes?" His response was curt, also laying down beside her but not directly on the floor. He detested how dirty the floor was and made sure she knew that with how much he complained about it. 

Her head turned to him and he was surprised to see the emotions that swirled within them: care and adoration, as well as curiosity. "What did you do before you became a ghost?"

If he had been expecting anything at all, it wasn't that question. Never before had she asked him so directly about his past or even how he'd died, always dancing around the subject until he too, sometimes forgot the difference between them. 

"As in my job or my life?" 

"Either one."

Levi couldn't remember much, he never had been able to recall too many details. Whenever he tried to think of how he died, it was like he'd hit a wall, unable to think of anything except blankness. 

Bits and pieces of his life came through, nothing solid enough to put together his life story. Just enough to get by really. 

"I don't remember much, but I think I worked in the Army for a while. I remember watching landmines go off and guns shooting. I know that I hated it, I hated killing and I refused to do it. That's probably why I left," she nodded, huddling under the thin material of her bed. "I liked black tea, my dream was to open a tea shop. Like a sweet store but for different kinds of tea. I guess I never got to do that."

He played it off as a dull joke that meant nothing, but he still regretted never following his dreams because now he was dead and no amount of wishing wouldn't bring his hopes to fruition. 

"What else? Did you have any friends?" A little surprised that she hadn't thrown in a little jab with the question, he tries his hardest to remember something. 

Light had completely gone, the night caressing each corner of his room and shrouding everything in darkness. The only thing emitting any kind of glow was his pale skin. 

"I had two. Isabel and Farlan. They died before I did, a while before actually. The Army was what killed them, blown up by an unexploded World War 2 bomb. After that, I had a few that I should have appreciated more," Their faces were still fuzzy, having used all of his mental energy to try and figure out their names. Maybe later he wound be able to picture them again.

When he closed his eyes he could hear the sounds of war, of bullets sliding through the air and of screams. Innocent people and their blood dirtied his hands until he couldn't take it anymore, quitting before he lost his sanity. 

The military was soul draining and he wouldn't wish the experience on anyone. 

"What about you?" He didn't open his eyes, "why did you come here?"

"Because I saw a big, abandoned house and I needed somewhere to sleep for the night. I was kicked out, my flat was small and shitty and I hadn't paid the rent because my boss refused to give me what he owed me. And since it was the third time, I'm homeless." It was only then did he open his eyes, deep, onyx irises regarding every detail of her relaxed face with intrigue.

"Did you find a job?" He mused out loud, wondering where she found the pennies to buy paint from when she was still sleeping on the floor in a dingy sleeping bag. 

She nodded, "yes. I found one at a florists. It doesn't pay much but I'm okay. I'm not starving everyday and that's all I could need. This house might be shit but it's a roof. Plus I have you as company. You're all I need," if warm, red blood could still run through him, his cheek would have surely flushed a light pink.

Instead he grunted, turning on to his side to avoid the faintest hint of embarrassment that began to curl around him. "You're fucking stupid"

"Maybe so, Levi. Maybe so."

* * *

 

It was an unknown scent that wafted through the hallway, his dulled senses instantly picking up on the pungent floral smell that seemed to fill the house. His eye twitched and he knew instantly what had caused it when a purposely high pitched scream of his name echoed through the corridors.

"What? Why the hell are you screaming?" His annoyance melted away instantly as he saw her beaming face, her clothing clean pressed and her entire visage looking brighter - healthier. "Oh?"

It was such a stark contrast from what he was used to that he could only stare at her. 

"Like it? I look like you now," With a clean white shirt and black jeans that complimented their figure, he noticed that she cleaned up really well. 

"Makes a change from looking like shit," at this she snorted, pushing the bouquet of beautiful flowers towards him. "What are you doing?" 

Her smile did not falter, nodding her head towards the flowers that she'd bought. They were bright and exuberant, whatever they lost in size they made up for in smell and aesthetics.

Ever so slowly, he took them from her grasp and was half surprised to find that he could hold them properly without phasing through them. Sometimes he could touch things and other times he couldn't, it was a matter of chance.

"These are for you, they're inauguration flowers," Inauguration flowers? What the hell did she mean by that?

Upon seeing the question in his metallic hues, she pulled out her slightly busted phone and went to the gallery, scrolling through a few pictures before stopping and stepping closer to his body.

On the screen there was an image of her dressed neatly, looking prim and proper yet also absolutely delighted a she stood in front of a quaint looking store. The front was decorated with pastel colours, a woodsy theme complimenting the strategically placed items in the shop window. Yet the thing that caught his attention the most was the name of the shop: Teavi's.

If he had a beating heart it would have surely stopped, his face frozen as he burned holes at the screen - at a loss.

Her head tilted towards him, the radiance that poured from her making step backwards. "You opened a stop? In my name?"

"Yeah," she shrugged nonchalantly, as though she hadn't just given him the world on a platter, "You told me this was your dream and I decided to make it happen. I'm just sorry it took so long," her sentence ended with a good natured laugh, pocketing her phone and pulling out a few tangible photos, "I guess sleeping here for so long helped me in saving money. I wouldn't recommended though."

Then and only then, did he recognise how much he treasured her. That throughout the years he'd been undead she'd been the closest thing to heaven. 

Levi was a ghost in love with a living, breathing human.

The sudden realisation had him gasping, the bouquet crushed in his suddenly tight grip, body glowing brightly as he stood firmly on the floor. 

"Are you okay?" Her concern was barely audible, the creaks and whispers of the house intensifying as he now knew exactly why he was stuck to wonder the earth.

"You," he breathed, "I'm in love with you." 

She blinked, frowning at his sudden declaration. "You're not in love with me, Levi. You're just grateful, there's a difference." Suddenly, he was I incredibly frustrated, unable to think properly as the world seemed to glow brighter.

"No, I'm not just saying it because you did this. I *realised* now, I-" trying his hardest to focus on her, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it roughly, taking one of the pictures and holding it. "Maybe I shouldn't have said it so impulsively but it's true."

He remembered this feeling, of the world starting to pulse with golden light and like he was asking weightless as air. This had happened to him when he'd first woken up in this spectral form and had missed his opportunity to reach the tunnel of light. 

He was going to pass on soon, but he didn't want to. Not when he'd just realised what he'd been feeling all along, that subtle stirring in his gut and the grins that had been exchanged. 

"Can we go to the shop? Please?" He never said please, not with such a pleading tone and eyes full of desperation. 

"I thought you couldn't leave the house?" Grown lines etched themselves onto her skin, grasping the silvery ghost. 

"What day is it?" He asked, hoping that he was correct.

"October 31st, why?" Perfect timing. 

"We can go today, I can leave the house on halloween. I want to see for myself," She was still reeling from the sudden confession and the he felt bad for dragging her out, but the light was getting stronger and he wouldn't be able to fight it for much longer. You could never win against fate. 

The urgency that was on his face made her gulp, nodding before she took off running down the streets, ignoring the disgruntled looks from the members of the public and the dirty side glances shot her way. Her only concern was getting to the shop, holding tightly onto Levi's wrist as he followed behind her. 

It had taken ten minutes of running to get to Teavi's, her lungs and legs burning as she heaved in front of the shop front, fumbling with her keys and opening the doors to reveal a dark interior. 

"We're here."

He let go of her wrist, watching as the lights flicked on with awe, turning around with shock written all over his features. Everything he had ever dreamed of having was materialised in the small yet homeless shop, the scents of the different tea's blending together to create a pleasant aroma. There were jars of dried leaves, small bags of crushed mixtures and some brands he'd never even heard of. Everything was soft and comforting, even down to the simple light fixtures that hung from the ceiling. 

Infront of him was his dream and the girl he loved. A pity that he met her only after his own life had ended. 

"It's beautiful. Better than I whatever I could have done," his feet reached the floor, fingers reaching out to brush over her cheeks and push away a strand of hair from her wide eyes. "You made my wish come true." 

His voice was soft but she wasn't concerned with that, instead focusing on how brightly he was glowing, emitting his own golden light as his hues hues held nothing but warmth and love. 

"Levi, what's going on?! Why are you glowing?" Instead of responding, his face moved closer, noses touching before he leaned in. Gentle lips touched her own, shock overcoming her features and not allowing her proper time to reach before he pulled away, hand gliding across the side of her face. 

"Even if you're a fucking whiny brat, you made me so happy. I'm shit with words and emotions but I know that I love you and I wish we could have met when I wasn't dead already. You comforted me and made my wish come true," he was losing to the light, fighting for his last few words before he would be gone forever. "I love you."

His heart hurt at seeing tears slip down her cheeks, contrasted by the gentle smile on her lips and faint nod of her head. "I love you too, Levi. I hope you have a good afterlife, remember me?" 

"I will," his hand slipped from her face and fell to his side, his eyes closing with the image of her tear streaked yet smiling visage.

Maybe in another life he would meet her when he was alive and they could open Teavi's all over again.

It was only when the light had become too strong, consuming him entirely, was he finally able to experience the sun on his skin and the breeze through his hair.


End file.
